Lombardo is widely known as an aggressive heavy metal drummer. His drumming has been praised as "astonishingly innovative".[6]Drummerworld named him "the Godfather of Double Bass".[7] He has had a significant influence on the metal scene and inspired modern metal drummers, particularly thrash and death metal drummers.[8]

Biography

Early years

Lombardo was born in Havana, Cuba on 16 February 1965. He has two older brothers and an older sister. His father owned three meat markets in Havana.[10] Lombardo moved with his family to South Gate, California when Lombardo was two years old. His brothers previously emigrated to the US via Operation Peter Pan.[10] Lombardo's musical interest were fueled by his first musical performance when he was eight years old; he played bongos to Santana's "Everybody's Everything". Lombardo joined his school's band and played the marching drum. After noticing his son's persistent interest in music, Lombardo's father bought him a five-piece Pearl Maxwin drum set for $350 when Lombardo was ten years old. Lombardo bought his first record, Alive! by Kiss, to play along with. He learned to play Kiss' "100,000 Years" by repeatedly listening to the record until he could play the drum solo perfectly.

Lombardo asked his parents for drum lessons. Although they agreed, the lessons were short-lived; it lasted one week. Lombardo grew bored because the lessons were repetitive and did not challenge him. Lombardo's friends introduced him to disco, which appealed to his affinity for funk, Latin and soul. He became a temporary DJ for a mobile disc jockey under the name A Touch of Class. Unimpressed with their son coming home at 4:00 AM, Lombardo's parents pressured him into quitting the DJ gig or face military school.

Lombardo returned to playing rock music in 1978 and befriended several like-minded musicians around South Gate. Lombardo moved to Pius X High School after eighth grade. He performed Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" with a guitarist named Peter Fashing during the school's talent show. "I'll never forget the roar of the crowd during the drum solo. We brought the house down," said Lombardo, who became known as "David the Drummer" the following day. Lombardo soon formed a band named Escape with two guitarists. Lombardo found a vocalist to join the band after he transferred to South Gate High School in 1979. The band performed at several events under the name Sabotage, but the band was short-lived.

Lombardo's parents convinced him to quit the band because he was withdrawing from everything except music. Knowing her son was set on pursuing a life on the stage, Lombardo's mother asked him to at least graduate high school. He honored her wish and graduated from South Gate High School in June 1983. Immediately following, Lombardo was recommended by his Technical Drafting teacher to Diesel Energy Systems Company. Impressed with his skill, Lombardo was hired on the spot. Around this time, Lombardo's musical career was ready to take off.